Reviews for Francesca's Cucina

06/30/2019 - Florida Man
This place gets 5 stars for ambiance and cost alone.

The waiter was slow and had to be told Caesar’s salad several times since every time he repeated my order back, it was a house with balsamic. Once served, I had to wait until he returned to send it back. Not a big deal really.

I also asked that I not receive a potato dish since they couldn’t substitute another vegetable. When my steak came, there it was looking as delicious as I knew it would; precisely why I had asked to not see it at all. That wasn’t a big deal either.

Utica greens were an unexpected treat. Deliciously unique.

My bone in ribeye was an amazing sight. It came out on a board and the sight alone brought to mind the drive in scene from the opening sequence of an old Flintstones cartoon.

The steak was juicy and the Cajun butter that I requested was the perfect complement. It would certainly have been marvelous had the steak come medium rare, as ordered, rather than medium well. I know, this one is a big deal, but it was delicious nonetheless.

Why, with all the errors, was I so pleased? Why did I eat my overcooked steak, and thoroughly enjoy it, when it would’ve been so easy to send it back? Value and atmosphere are the two words which come to mind.

My bone in ribeye, overcooked as it was and served with a potato dish I didn’t want and a salad I did not order, was $21. For comparison, I looked up the same steak at a halfway decent restaurant in south Florida which came to $69.

Essentially, complaining of a single hair on the bathroom floor of the Waldorf when being charged for a room at the Red Roof Inn would be ridiculous. Who, in their right mind, wouldn’t enjoy 70% off the “nicest restaurant in town”?

The atmosphere was also pleasing. Old world character, accentuated by ivy flowing from the adjacent roof and down the walls, lay unforeseen until our seating in the small courtyard.

It was also nice to see everyone clothed in their Sunday best for a weeknight meal in the small working class town.

This experience was the best of my weeklong business stay.